Hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) is a broadband network that is employed by cable Television (TV) operators and that combines optical fiber and coaxial cable technologies. The HFC comprises point-to-point (P2P) fiber that extends from an operators' site, e.g. a headend or central office, to an optical node (ON), which serves a plurality of customers or customer premise equipment (CPE) via a coaxial plant that comprises branching coaxial cables. The headend comprises telephony equipment for providing telecommunications services, satellite dishes to receive distant video signals, and/or Internet Protocol (IP) aggregation routers. The services are encoded, modulated, up-converted onto Radio Frequency (RF) carriers, and/or combined onto an electrical signal and then forwarded using an optical transmitter from the headend to the ON. The optical transmitter converts the electrical signal to an optically modulated signal before sending the signal downstream to the ON via a fiber optic cable, e.g. in a P2P topology. The ON comprises an optical receiver, which converts the received optical signal from the headend to an electrical signal, which is then forwarded to the customers via the coaxial plant or coaxial cables. The ON also comprises a reverse/return path transmitter that sends communications from the customers to the headend. The reverse/return transmitter converts electrical signals from the customers into an optical signal, which is then forwarded upstream to the headend.